Dave Nichols - The One Percenter Code: How to Be an Outlaw in a World Gone Soft

NOW, MORE THAN EVER, PEOPLE NEED A BACKBONE AND A CODE TO LIVE BY. THE ONE PERCENTER CODE MAY WELL OFFER AN ANSWER, SHOWING OUR YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN THE WARRIORS WAY IN A WORLD THAT HAS LOST ITS EDGE.

A young warrior steps out of a crude hut to face the sunrise. Today is his day of days... today he will become a man. The rite of passage into manhood by various tribes has occurred in many lands and times. The common thread seems to be an experience of emotional and physical pain in which a boy passes a test of manhood to show courage.

The ancient Spartans believed that the only way to become a man was to become a soldier. Training began at age 7, when boys were taken from their families and placed in the agoge system. Spartan boys learned to be soldiers over the next 10 years. When a Spartan boy reached 18, he was sent into the wilderness with only a knife, and his goal was to kill as many helots (state-owned slaves) as possible without being detected.

The Maasai people of Kenya take boys between 10 and 15 years old to create a new warrior class. The night before the ceremony, the boys sleep outside in the forest. The next day, they drink a mixture of milk, cows blood, and alcohol. Then the elders circumcise the boys before the entire tribe. If the boy flinches during the procedure, he is told that he will be disowned.

Among the Mandan Native American tribe living along the Missouri River in the Dakotas, a boy would fast for three days before the elders pierced his body with wooden splints. Ropes were extended from the roof of a hut and the boy was winched up into the air, hanging suspended by the splints. Despite the pain, the boy could not cry out. While hanging, more splints were hammered through his arms and legs, and the skulls of his grandfather and other ancestors were placed on the ends of the splints. Eventually, the young man fainted from loss of blood and pain, and the elders would pull him down. As if this were not enough, when he regained consciousness, the elders would chop off his pinky finger as a gift to the gods.

On a South Pacific island called Vanuatu, boys must jump headfirst from a 100-foot wooden tower with vines tied to their ankles. The goal is to come as close to the ground as possible to show courage. The Satere-Mawe tribe of the Brazilian Amazon has a ritual whereby a boy must stick his hand in a glove woven with bullet ants and withstand their stings for more than 10 minutes without making a noise. The pain from these stings lasts more than 24 hours. All this makes a bar mitzvah seem like a fairly stress-free event.

When removed from the aboriginal peoples of this planet, man becomes a soft, flabby, weak creature. This is especially true in a privileged society like that found in the United States, where a metrosexual will squeal like a little bitch if the Vietnamese lady giving him his manicure cuts too close to his cuticle. Not only will such a pathetic creature be unable to stand even the mildest rite of passage, but if he even witnesses one, he will have to undergo years of therapy to cure his posttraumatic stress.

Modern men today have become weak, useless creatures. In large part thats because todays men have few rites of passage in our culture. Few groups of men supply the indoctrination into manhood that is required in these complex times. There is no sense of community or tribe for most boys on their way to adulthood, and, as such, the male (and female) population of our modern cities is sent into the world with no moral compass, adrift and lost.

I believe that rites of passage and a code of ethics and honor to live by are vital to human survival. I see our world going soft and offering no strength for present and future generations. I see todays kids spending too much time separated from elders who might teach them and peers they can relate to. I see too much of their young lives being spent in virtual worlds and online chat.

Perhaps one answer to this problem is to look at a tribe that still exists in this land, one that offers a strong code of conduct based on respect, courage, and honor: namely the one percenter motorcycle club member. I believe that the biker lifestyle comprises many aspects of the warrior ethic from many lands and times, from the ancient Vikings, Huns, and Mongols, to the articles of pirates, the Code of Chivalry of knights, and even the famed Code of the West.

Now, more than ever, people need a backbone and a code to live by. The One Percenter Code may well offer an answer, showing our young men and women the warriors way in a world that has lost its edge. May this be a guidebook based on truth and brotherhood for a world that is once again searching for its grail.

Dave Nichols

A LOOK AT THE RULES OF SOCIETY, BOTH WRITTEN AND UNWRITTEN, AND WHERE THE CODE OF THE BIKER FITS IN

Why do we need rules in order to live together? Why do we follow rules? What is it about human beings that persuades us to adhere to a moral code? I mean, if you are a hermit and live alone in a cave somewhere in the wilderness without any human contact, I guess you can do as you please. But the minute any two human beings get within close proximity, the need for rules begins to crop up. This is apparent in creation myths the world over. Time and time again, we are shown that people, when left to their own devices, choose poorly and ruin their lives, the lives of their children, and the lives of those in their village or tribe, and even offend the gods.

Most mythic stories follow a simple cause and effect pattern; if you do something bad to someone, then the outcome is that something bad is likely to befall you. This is where we get such moral catchphrases as Treat others as you would yourself or Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This Golden Rule concept is the centerpiece of most religious practices and beliefs.

This should be simple enough for everyone to follow, but it doesnt always work as intended. The problem begins when various gods and goddesses grant mankind the ability to govern itself.

In most traditions we humans are given free will. Some religions actively encourage this; others accept it as a necessary evil, but at least they accept it. This is why many New Agers call Earth a freewill planet. According to their worldview, we are among the few planets or dimensions in existence in which sentient life forms can literally create their own reality, moment by moment. Not that were very good at doing so, at least judging by the consequences suffered by the characters in most mythic stories. Usually, according to the myths, our use of this God-given ability to create our own reality results in dire consequences. The end result of these myths seems to be that we humans are not quite ready to be god seeds.